Sunday, June 15, 2014

In a commentary, the newspaper said falling into the craze for Western-style democracy had led countries to irretrievable secession and endless domestic struggles instead of happiness and stability.

"Copying Western-style democracy would probably lead to disaster and street politics usually leads to domestic turmoil and even civil war," it said.

Citing countries in western Asia and northern Africa, Ukraine and Thailand, which have experienced street protests and even armed conflicts, the newspaper said Western-style democracy might have led to a wrong path - street politics.

"These cases show that copying Western-style democracy with no respect for the actual situation and cultural differences will mostly be unsuccessful," the newspaper said.

The article also pointed out that in most of the cases, the United States and some Western forces had been involved in the street politics in these countries, either "on stage" or behind the scenes.

These cases show that copying Western-style democracy with no respect for the actual situations and cultural differences of a certain country will mostly be unsuccessful. Sometimes, copying Western-style democracy can even turn into a destructive force.

"In many circumstances, the so-called value of democracy has become a big stick for certain countries to practise hegemony and new interventionism," it said, adding that democracy should be realised in different forms in different countries.

The most important criteria to assess whether political development accords with the Chinese people's fundamental interests is development and stability, said the article.

The article in the end called on people to stay on high alert against the trap of Western-style democracy, adhere to the reform and opening up policies, and stick to the path of political development with Chinese characteristics.

"From western Asia to North Africa, many countries have slipped into the confused madness of 'western democracy', which has neither brought happiness nor stability," the paper said.

It also took aim at British democracy.

"In Britain's parliament to this day there are still hereditary nobles. For Chinese people, this is unthinkable," the paper said, adding that China should continue going down its own path.